Investing in FIGR's future
Ontario court allows corporation, which owns FIGR East and Canada's Island Garden, to find buyers, investors
Charlottetown's cannabis producers, FIGR East and Canada's Island Garden, are looking for buyers or investors after going into creditor protection two weeks ago.
On Friday, an Ontario court granted permission to FTI Consulting Canada Inc. – a court-appointed monitor – to take bids on behalf of the FIGR Group, which includes the two Charlottetown cannabis producers.
The deadline to submit a bid in the form of a nonbinding letter of agreement is Feb. 26.
The court also granted an extension to a stay of proceedings against the FIGR Group to March 31.
On Jan. 21, Pyxus International, the U.S. company that owned the FIRG Group, announced it was divesting its interest in the Canadian cannabis producer in order to focus more on tobacco and eliquid products.
The FIGR Group, which also includes FIGR Norfolk (Simcoe, Ont.) and FIGR Brands Inc. (Toronto), was granted creditor protection by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) and FTI Consulting Canada Inc. in Ontario was appointed as FIGR's court appointed monitor.
FIGR East in Charlottetown supplied recreational cannabis, whereas Canada's Island Garden supplied medical cannabis.
Pieter Sikkel, president and CEO of Pyxus International, said in the Jan. 21 press release that the company believes there is value in FIGR, and its growth "can be accelerated with the right capital structure and partner”.
According to court documents on the monitor's website, as of Nov. 30, 2020, the FIGR Group had assets of $153,166,418 and liabilities of $203,362,540.
As of Jan. 21, the list of creditors includes the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency ($776,044) and Maritime Electric ($114,601).
Last year, the company announced that its cannabis products were being carried in nine provinces – Alberta, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The majority of the cannabis the company supplies comes from its Charlottetown facility located at 7 Innovation Way.
The business was founded by P.E.I. farmer Edwin Jewell as Canada's Island Garden, which was licensed to produce medical cannabis in 2016. In May 2018, the company announced a $35-million expansion to the existing 24,000 square-foot facility. The project added 256,000 square-feet of greenhouse space and 54,000 square-feet of warehouse and processing space to the company's original facility.
Also at that time, the FIGR brand was introduced, and it was revealed that the cannabis producer had been acquired by a U.S. tobacco company, moving Jewell from majority owner to president.
A representative with FTI Consulting Canada Inc. couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.